When the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties published the Resolution on the CPY in June 1948, a split between pro-Tito and pro-Soviet members occurred in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. This split was not only limited to Yugoslavs inside the borders of Yugoslavia but also to Yugoslav immigrants in western countries. Members of the Yugoslav community in Australia, a community whose presence in Australia dates back to the 19th century and was active in Australia's political life with its organization the Yugoslav Immigrants Association and other organizations, also felt the consequences of the split. Using the Australian Secret Intelligence Organization files and other sources, this research will try to reveal what the community's initial reaction to the Tito-Stalin split was, whether the community was more pro-Tito or pro-Soviet oriented, what the main hot-spots of the conflict were, and what the community members’ actual level of engagement in the conflict was.
This paper examines the policy of monument construction in socialist Yugoslavia, focusing on their function as sites of collective memory of the People's Liberation Struggle, as well as their broader, multifaceted role, exemplified by the monument at Petrova Gora. Special attention is given to the ways in which the state regime’s use of history contributed to the construction and reinforcement of the ruling ideology. The legacy of the People’s Liberation Struggle, understood also as a socialist revolution, played a crucial role in legitimizing communist authority and shaping socialist ideology. Within this context, monuments functioned not only as commemorative spaces but also as instruments of cultural, educational, and touristic development. Petrova Gora, as a site of historical significance and a symbol of Yugoslav brotherhood and unity, serves as a paradigmatic example of the entanglement of memory politics, regional development, and ideological formation aimed at creating the new socialist man.
The article explores the significance of frontispieces in political works produced roughly between 1660 and 1710 in the territory of the Habsburg Monarchy, with a focus on Austrian and Bohemian lands. Frontispieces played a key role in this period as a visual-rhetorical device with which authors and publishers presented the content of the work and addressed readers. The article presents several examples of political frontispieces, such as works by Johannes Nicolaus Flämizer, Christian Weirauch, Franz Reinzer and others. The analysis shows that frontispieces were often designed allegorically, using universal symbols (e.g. virtues, state symbols, divine support) that expressed political values, idealized rule, and dynastic ambitions of the Habsburgs. The article concludes that frontispieces are an important source for understanding the visual political culture of the early modern period, as they offer symbolic models for interpreting politics, government and authority that complement but do not necessarily directly reflect the textual content of the works.
The perception of the role of women in medieval sources is largely shaped by gender stereotypes, whether in literature or historical sources. However, with the emergence of the so-called chivalric society and culture women experienced a certain change in their social status and role that is visible to us in the sources. Namely, women within the chivalric society formed a part of the target audience for chivalric themes, while the female characters who appeared in the stories represented a framework for what was expected of members of that society depending on their gender, social status and role. By presenting examples of women who acted as patrons of historical and literary works, this paper will demonstrate how the medieval chivalric society viewed the position of women as well as detect the mechanisms for surpassing their socially imposed role.
In the second half of the 19th century Japan saw the end of the feudal political order with the Tokugawa shogunate in power (1603–1867) and the restoration of imperial rule under Emperor Meiji, ushering Japan into a new modern era. This paper aims to investigate and illuminate how the combined impact of modern education, legal forms, and economic opportunities influenced the transformation of women’s status and roles in the Meiji period, using a comparative approach with the previous Edo (Tokugawa) period. This paper argues that traditional Confucian-based gender norms that had dominated during the Edo period were challenged and, in some cases, reshaped to fit the evolving socio-political landscape. The establishment of a modern educational system enabled girls and women to acquire new knowledge and skills outside the domestic sphere, laying the groundwork for women’s increased participation in public, political and professional life. However, as the freedom and popular rights movement came to be perceived as a threat to state authority, by the late 1890s women were deliberately excluded from formal politics and redefined primarily as wives and mothers serving the state in the household, as women's activism challenged both political hierarchy and the family system ie .
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the socialist government in Yugoslavia was actively pushing the policy of brotherhood and unity. Unlike the interwar integralist version, the promotion of socialist Yugoslavism was envisioned as a building block of togetherness. The agrarian reform and colonisation, which spanned from 1945 to 1948, completely transformed land ownership relations and allowed an unprecedented level of social mobility. This paper explores the impact of internal migration on nation-building through a case study of the colonist settlement of Stanišić, located in Vojvodina, populated by settlers from the similarly multicultural region of Dalmatia. The colonisation effort primarily targeted Partisan fighters and their families. The settlers officially declared themselves Croats or Serbs and represented the two largest ethnic groups in Yugoslavia, but during the colonisation, they were classified by the government as Dalmatians. Consequently, they are a prime example of blurred lines between regional, national, and transnational identities. This paper analyses the impact of internal migration on identity formation within Stanišić over the following decades and examines how it correlates with the rest of Vojvodina. It explores the different layers of colonists’ identity, their position and influence on Serbian nationalism and Yugoslav multinationalism, as well as the fluidity of the said stance.
The article is a polemic with the opinion of Dušan Zupka about the meeting of two rulers, described in the 7th chapter of the Hungarian-Polish Chronicle. The author analyzes the broader context of the given source. Contrary to Dušan Zupka, he argues that the meeting is not a model of ritual reconciliation, as there was no conflict between Poland and Hungary. He regards the source partly as a hagiography and interprets it according to the requirements of the genre. He claims that Stephen’s superiority over the ruler of Poland does not stem from diplomacy, but from his sanctity. The meeting with Prince Mieszko is more important for the narrative of the Chronicle than the scene of Saint Stephen’s coronation. The bilateral act of confirming their friendship meets God’s and the papal requirements of Stephen’s legal reign. It also has a fundamental impact on the later part of the Chronicle, since the Polish prince resolved the crisis in Hungary after Saint Stephen’s death.
Three separate, but interlinked, attempts at progressive planetary internationalism all trace a direct lineage from struggles against fascism, colonialism, and racism: the Bandung Afro-Asian conference of April 1955, the Belgrade Non-Aligned summit of September 1961, and the Havana Tricontinental conference of January 1966. Revisiting the three events, and tracing their ‘afterlives’, allows for a more nuanced understanding of the contradictions, challenges, and achievements of global anti-fascism and, in particular, the tensions between reformist and revolutionary transformations and between struggles ‘from above’ and ‘from below’. An analytical discussion of fascism and anti-fascism is followed by a critique of the methodological nationalism and entrenched Eurocentrism of much of the study of fascism and anti-fascism to this day. The article then outlines some aspects of fascism and anti-fascism emerging in, or traveling to, the Global South and the importance of addressing the transnational dimension of anti-fascism before exploring what the study of these three events may bring to our understandings of anti-fascism now and in the future.
This paper examines the mutual relationship between reform efforts in Yugoslavia from 1980 to 1990 and the ideology of Serbian nationalism, which progressed in a kind of “march through institutions” during those years. Yugoslavia was a “country of constant reforms,” which was especially evident during its last decade. In the conditions of turbulent changes in the world, Yugoslavia also faced numerous attempts or at least proposals to reform the system or its parts. Serbian nationalism used the crisis to impose its solutions on the citizens, but it also had to reckon with the reform proposals. Nationalism was able to use some of the reforms such as proposals for strengthening the central government and for more efficient functioning of federal bodies. Other proposals, primarily on the democratization of relations in the country, were natural enemies of the ideology of nationalism. In both cases, promoters of the new ideology had to reckon with reforms, with actors who advocated or opposed them, and with structures that acted accordingly. Together, this made the social environment even more dynamic and contributed to an intense ideological struggle, the result of which ultimately affected the fate of the country.
Four months after the end of World War II, in December of 1945, Japanese women were granted suffrage. With the general election set in April of 1946, women were expected to exercise their voting rights for the first time in history. While this was a significant milestone for women in general, it was also achieved suddenly and during a period when most Japanese women were not ready for such a role. This paper aims to illuminate the contrast in adapting to new political rights between the Japanese suffragettes and an average Japanese woman in the context of the first post-war general elections. The paper argues that on the one hand, suffragettes who sought women’s rights even before the war, promptly and successfully adjusted to the aftermath of the war. On the other hand, an average Japanese woman lacked political education and was largely still influenced by tradition and her submissive role. Furthermore, as Japan found itself in a state of disarray, questions of food and survival were often more pressing, leaving most Japanese women indifferent to voting, and politics overall.
The study focuses on the representation of masculinity in Czechoslovak/Czech cinemas focused on compulsory military service. The analysis of relevant film production covers the issue from a long-term perspective, from the 1950s until the full professionalization of the Czech army in 2005. The research concentrates on identifying the preferred image of masculinity in the analysed works and possible subversive models for this preferred image. At the same time, the long time frame of the analysis makes it possible to explore possible continuities and discontinuities of images of masculinity between the communist regime (Czechoslovak People’s Army) and the democratic era after 1989 (Army of the Czech Republic). Here, the analytical outputs prove the persisting traditional gender hierarchy and the issues of militarization as a way how to support it.
In the late 1980s, a small, independent, alternative radio station in Ljubljana unexpectedly became one of the principal actors in a sequence of political events, which catalysed mass protests and contributed to an ongoing political crisis. These events aided the formation of social movements and strong political figures who remained influential within local politics for the next thirty years. Slovenian media promptly reported the news in the wake of the ongoing political transformations and liberal-democratic reforms, but while mainstream media continued to report on foreign affairs, local issues, workers’ strikes, inflation, and protests of doctors and students, it was Radio Študent that undisputedly overshadowed the conventional news with its reporting on the JBTZ affair, through which the radio became an under-recognised agent of change. Through archival records, this paper investigates the actual substance behind the radio voices and archival content that produced “chaos” in the Slovenian and Yugoslav political ether. By analysing radio broadcasts, meeting summaries, letters, and other related content, we investigate the deeper extent and report insight into the key political event at the time. Additionally, we follow one of the stages in the development and construction of the autonomous and progressive orientation of the radio itself, which remains topical to this day.
The years following the Second World War brought dramatic changes in the economic and social situation of the Hungarian peasantry. The radical land distribution was followed by the Sovietization of agriculture and the first waves of collectivization, which caused a real crisis in the countryside. In this paper, I will analyse the land distribution and collectivization process in the ethnically mixed villages of a small region along the Hungarian-Yugoslav border. I will focus on the local South Slavic minority and its attitude to land distribution and collectivization. The archival sources also seem to indicate that during land distribution the South Slavs found themselves in a privileged position in the Baja Triangle. Moreover, social tensions were sometimes mixed with an ethnic dimension, too. The examination of the above questions is also justified by the fact that on the other side of the border, in Yugoslavia, an opposite process began in the 1950s, which could provide the locals with an opportunity for comparison.
The use of the body – whether it referred to representations of the leader through media or artistic image, sculpture, photography, or specific choreographed manifestations – is a recognizable tool for building and nurturing the personality cult of Josip Broz Tito and communicating with the People. The crisis of the socialist society and the ideological shift was therefore accompanied by sudden changes, neglect, even literal cutting and melting of the monumental heritage, removal, and destruction of Tito's representations, and the forced oblivion of collective performances that once celebrated Yugoslavia and its leader. In this paper, the Museum of Yugoslavia in Belgrade and its surroundings will serve as the point of departure for further reflection on the creation of a personality cult, as well as its subsequent deconstruction and recontextualization followed by the notion of the body's bond to this space. Starting from the appearance of the literal and the symbolical body of the leader, as well as the collective body in the context of the 25th of May performance and commemoration happening in the same area, we will follow how these bodies transform over time at the same place through the medium of contemporary art and curatorial practice.
Despite all the difficulties of post-WWII scarcity, the state apparatus of the new, socialist Yugoslavia recognized the importance of the fledgling film production for affirmation of the new social relations. The ‘partisan’ period of Yugoslav cinema was followed by the soc-realist period of administrative management which set the foundation for contemporary film production in Yugoslavia. Cinema was considered a new socialist art governed by the principles of ‘people’s realism’. Contemporary social reality was portrayed not as it was, but as it ought to be, aligning with the expectations of the new man and society. This paper follows chronologically the changes in feature films of socialist Yugoslavia from the medium of promotion of the socialist society to the medium of reflection of its crises and reforms. From the film sagas about the heroes of postwar revival, shock workers and visionaries of a better society, to the bitter portrayals of aged and disillusioned partisans, corrupted officials who abuse the self-management system, ailing miners and depressed railmen, Gastarbeiters in the limbo of economic migrations, etc. Yugoslav cinema opens a specific perspective on the crises and reforms of Yugoslav socialism which is worth taking a closer look at.
This paper examines the depiction of migrations from Kosovo and Metohija during the 1980s in cartoons published in Yugoslavia’s most prominent satirical newspaper – Jež (Hedgehog). During that time, readers were consistently exposed to emotionally charged drawings illustrating the departure of emigrants. What was significant in these illustrations was the wearing of the Serbian national hat, šajkača. Previously, this hat symbolized social status, representing the rural population and peasants. However, during the crisis, its significance shifted, becoming a symbol of Serbian nationality. In public life, particularly among intellectual circles, this era saw the resurgence of neo-traditionalist narratives glorifying Serbia’s past. The visual representation of these narratives can be observed in cartoons, notably from 1986 onward, coinciding with the proliferation of cartoons featuring emigrants. These constructed neo-traditionalist narratives were appropriated and utilized by Slobodan Milošević’s populist machinery as a means to maintain power. The cartoons, as a direct product of the burgeoning Serbian nationalist policy at that time, played a role in propaganda and mobilization.
On the basis of empirical data and scientific literature related to people of Armenian and Armenian-Bulgarian origin, the following text will discuss how stereotypes about Armenians in Bulgaria have changed over time and how according to interlocutors, most of whom are of Armenian-Bulgarian descent, Bulgarians perceive the living in their land people with Armenian roots. Furthermore, it will be searched how individuals of Armenian origin identify themselves in different times and contexts. Last but not least, attention will be paid also to the European identification of Armenian-Bulgarians on Bulgarian territory as both states Bulgaria and Armenia are part of supranational structures as the European Union and the Eastern Partnership at the European Commission.
The authors explore religious prejudices in early Christianity, Judaism, and paganism using 1st and 2nd-century sources. During that era, ethnic and religious biases affected various societal levels. The first section examines biases among Gentiles and Christians toward Jews, followed by biases between Gentiles and Jews toward Christians, and the prejudices of Christians and Jews toward Gentiles. The second section delves into prejudices between Christians and Jews, focusing on how society reacted to Christians’ distinctiveness from Jews, hindering their integration due to pagan religiosity. In response, Christians presented their faith as a bridge, emphasizing its universality for all people, not solely for the Jewish community. They offered a pathway for communion and reconciliation, asserting the superiority and broader interpretative nature of Christian faith over Judaism. Jesus Christ’s life, St. Paul’s teachings, and events from the Acts of the Apostles affirmed the faith’s universal significance. The third section centers on ‘barbarian philosophy’ as an attempt to unify Christians and pagans amid growing societal tensions in the 2nd century. Christian apologists, once pagan philosophers, aimed to alleviate prejudices by aligning their received faith with their society, employing ‘barbarian philosophy.’ This approach viewed Christianity through rationality, rooted in the universal divine Logos, appealing to all people as the creator and advocate.
The eight-time Academy Award-winning film Gandhi (1982) aims to present the person Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi (1869–1948) as a “spokesman for the conscience of all mankind.” More than forty years later, the film still brings to light significant issues regarding the essence of broad moral and political aspirations, the formation and upholding of “civil religion,” and the potential of non-violent political and social actions to prevail in a troubled world. While primarily focusing on the portrayal of Gandhi, the film contrasts and reflects upon the differences and similarities between the markedly different—yet in crucial ways, alike—depictions of civil religion in the 1935 German Nazi propaganda film, Triumph of the Will. Both films, as argued here, document uncertainty—Gandhi overtly showcasing it as a “soft” film of civil religious enactment, and Triumph covertly displaying it as a “hard” film of civil religious enactment. Whereas Triumph aimed to present a clear vision of a future devoid of doubt, Gandhi raises queries and leaves audiences uncertain about its message, except for the assertion that the man (Mahatma Gandhi) embodies the message itself.
This paper examines the parallels between two books: Il male viene dal Nord and Quando Dio uscì di chiesa by Fulvio Tomizza. Although the books appear quite distinct at first glance, one being a historical novel and the other prompting discussions among researchers regarding its literary genre, both share a common theme—the experiences of frontier individuals. These works portray Istrian Lutherans from the 16th century and are linked through the character of Koper’s bishop Vergerio. Vergeri’s life mirrors the plight of twentiethcentury Istrians who faced exile. The persecution, imprisonment, and forced exodus endured by Istrian Lutherans echo the trials faced by individuals like the narrator’s father in the 20th century, following the Second World War. Set in the Istrian peninsula, a place marked by conflicts between Latins, Slavs, and Germans according to Živko Nižić, the story captures the struggles of these groups. Tomizza, through his micro-history approach, pays homage to minority populations residing in border regions, illustrating the violence they endured across history. As a frontier man himself, Tomizza profoundly comprehends their suffering, skillfully weaving this experience into a tapestry of high-quality literature that has earned international acclaim.
